In Hospitality, You Need to Have a Love for People

Exclusive Interview with Philip Barnes, CEO, Rotana Hotel Management

What inspired you to pursue a career in the hospitality industry?

My first introduction to hospitality was what I would classify as a summer job before I finished school. I went to a hotel that had opened in the village where my parents lived in England. I took a job there for the summer, doing anything and everything I was told to do. This involved everything from making beds to answering phones, helping cook breakfast, serving, stocking the bars—you name it. I loved it. I fell in love with this industry because it was so diverse. Every day was different, and it continues along those lines, being different every day.

Something that has kept you motivated all these years to remain in this industry.

I think that when you’re in this industry, you have to have a love for people, first and foremost—whether it’s your guests or your colleagues. That’s where it begins and ends. Hotels, otherwise, are just bricks and mortar. The reality is you have to bring them to life through the people who work there, and that’s what stimulates me the most. How do you energize a hotel? How do you energize a business? That’s the piece that gets me out of bed every morning—thinking about what we are going to do today, where we are going today, and how we are going to bring a level of excitement into what we do. There is something exciting every day, and it’s not always something you want to deal with—it’s not always pleasant—but it’s the reality of the world in which we live. There’s always something that needs attention. I think if you have a passion for excellence, which I certainly believe that I do, then this comes to the forefront in everything that I do.

As you stepped into this position at Rotana, what is your main priority for the company?

So, really, what happened in the first 90 days after I arrived was that the first thing I needed to do was get to know the team, understand what we have, and go around the hotels. I’ve covered most of the hotels now in the UAE. I’ve met the general managers, I’ve met their teams, and I’ve spent time with all the corporate VPs. I’ve looked at everything they’re doing, and I’ve challenged everything we’re doing—not to challenge for the sake of it, but because I want to understand why we do things the way we do. When you come from outside a company, you bring a fresh perspective. I told the corporate office team, for example, on day one, that I would bring change. I wasn’t brought in to maintain the status quo; I was brought in to bring a different perspective. There are a whole series of things that you will learn about me, and they’re not designed to be challenging or difficult, but they are designed to bring a different thought process. That’s what I brought to Rotana, and that’s basically the premise upon which I was hired. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman wanted somebody from outside Rotana to be the CEO—someone who brings a global perspective, who brings knowledge from other companies I’ve worked for, be it Fairmont, Four Seasons, or Shangri-La. They wanted all of those things brought to the table, and that’s what I’m doing.

With your experience across five continents, what cultural traditions do you believe impact hotel management?

I think the first thing you need to learn as you go from culture to culture is that you need to adapt and adopt what you do to suit the culture that is present. You can’t go into a place thinking you know everything or try to impose your culture on them. I was just in Pakistan this week in Islamabad, and I ignored the media portrayals of Pakistan because I wanted to go there with a fresh approach. They have the most wonderful hospitality and are the most exciting partners to deal with. The worst thing you can do is go into something thinking you know it all. Years ago, when I was with Fairmont, I was looking after Saudi Arabia. I had the benefit of a wonderful VP in Saudi who would say to me, “Yes, Phil, I understand, but in Saudi, this is the way we look at things.” So, as someone in hospitality or in any industry for that matter, you have to go into a culture with a fresh perspective and understand what they do. You have to take that around the world with you. For example, when I was in Vancouver, and a member of the Royal family came from Abu Dhabi to Vancouver, the team was unsure of what to do. I brought in someone I knew to help the operational team understand the differences and variations because that’s what you have to do. You can’t just do business as usual—you have to adapt and adopt. I think understanding cultures is key to doing business.

People look at you as a role model, is there any advice you would like to give to hotel managers on how they can be effective in their roles?

I think the most important thing for anybody in any world is to be authentic and genuine. If you’re paying lip service to something that you don’t really believe in, people can see right through you. Do what you believe is right. Follow your instincts, follow your passions, and understand what the guest is looking for. Understand what the customer is looking for. I’ve met countless chefs who told me, “Well, this is my specialty.” And I say, “Great, that’s terrific. What does the guest think? What does the customer think?” Because it really doesn’t matter what the chef thinks. If the customer doesn’t like it, then it’s irrelevant. The same applies to everything we do. I’ve said this many times since I’ve been at Rotana: I don’t really care what we say about ourselves—it’s what other people say about us that matters. So, when you’re looking at your business, understand what other people’s expectations are of you and focus on that. If you look around and see a dozen different things that need attention, every guest, every colleague—everybody—I have a philosophy that says I can’t walk by any problem. I cannot. I was in our office this morning and I was talking to our head of engineering and said, “We need to fix these tiles on the floor because they’re cracked.” You can’t say, “This is not my job.” You don’t have that luxury. When you get into a senior role, it’s your job, whatever it may be, and you can’t walk away.

Looking into the future, where do you want to take Rotana from here?

Rotana is a tremendous regional company now with 76 hotels. I have tremendous ambitions for the company. You mentioned Pakistan—our hotel in Islamabad is a franchise operation with wonderful partners there. I’d like to see us have 10 hotels in Pakistan. We’re opening two hotels in suburban London later this year. I’d like to see us have 10 hotels throughout the UK. I’d like to see us continue to grow the Rotana brand throughout the region. There are opportunities for us still remaining within the UAE, but also a lot of other opportunities in Qatar, Egypt, and other parts of the world. I’d like to see us growing, but with substance. It’s easy to put pins on a map, but that’s not what this is about. We have to go, deliver a quality experience, and take care of our owners. We have a lot of issues to address as part of who we are right now. There has to be depth. I’ve said when people have asked me to compare us to the big brands—the global multinational companies—I tell them they’re in the business of hotels. I’m in the hotel business. There’s a big difference. We have a depth of brand, we have a DNA, and that’s what we bring to the table.